Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/11/30/dog-chases-walruses-off-dock.html
…
2 Likes
There are palm trees in the background and walruses live exclusively in the arctic. They are not walruses.
Sea lions, seals and sea otters are protected animals. It’s against federal law to disturb them or cause them to change their behavior. Including with a dog.
Boo.
29 Likes
I have no idea if a similar law exists in California (assuming that’s where this was filmed), but where I live there are most definitely laws against allowing pets to harass wildlife. The owner didn’t try to collar his dog or call it back, which makes me wonder if they intentionally sent it after the sea lions?
https://www.animallaw.info/article/table-state-and-federal-laws-concerning-dogs-chasing-wildlife
For California, I found this:
“It is unlawful to permit or allow any dog to pursue any big game mammal during the closed season on such mammal, to pursue any fully protected, rare, or endangered mammal at any time, or to pursue any mammal in a game refuge or ecological reserve if hunting within such refuge or ecological reserve is unlawful. Any employee of the fish and game department may capture or dispatch a dog causing injury to wildlife without liability.”
California sea lions don’t appear to be endangered or rare, but they are managed under the Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, so could be considered “fully protected”
Edit: You can’t hunt sea lions in California, so this law may not apply. Still, not cool and quite possibly illegal.
16 Likes
Given how warm the Arctic has been recently, perhaps they came South to get away from the heat.
11 Likes
I see we figured out they weren’t walruses. (Pinnipeds all look the same, amiright?)
Though for dogs chasing animals, he has a while to go before reaching the level of Fenton.
17 Likes
I have a half-border collie. This can happen. Brilliant video.
7 Likes
On the bright side, that is probably the first time that dog has felt truly alive and fulfilling its purpose it was bred for.
9 Likes
Those look like harbor seals mb? yeah dog shouldn’t be doing that but tis his nature. I would have a quiet word w owner. If I saw it again I’d mention it to the harbor master. Saw it yet again? call the policccccce
=`M
5 Likes
Would that dog be charged as an adult or as a minor? Does the justice system recognize dog years?
2 Likes
sea lions tend to break docks with their weight by lounging on them in sufficient numbers like that, so i have no idea if the law would look the other way or not to avoid destruction of property.
1 Like
They might have to take away his license to dog.
7 Likes
Land dogs and sea dogs not getting along…
7 Likes
That dog’s an asshole.
I like him.
7 Likes
Wow, that’s some dog chaos theory right there.
Mind you, if the park rangers or whoever come along, it probably looks more like a crazy guy chasing the deer while yelling something incomprehensible…
ETA: Also, I can’t remember when there’s ever been a better BB thread for posting this. If only someone would get into a polite, pedantic disagreement…
ETA2: Removed aspersions I cast on dog’s name, which was name-ist of me. My own name is kinda weird, but I bet that somewhere there’s a dog answering to it.
2 Likes
A crabby dog chased a half-dozen walruses (or are they sea-lions?) relaxing on a dock (or is it a pier?) Whatever.
They’re manatees, it’s a deck, and that’s a bear. I hope that clears things up.
24 Likes
I used to know, and love dearly, a sadly passed away Heinz 57 Terrier by the name of Brian who was clearly this mutt’s soulmate. Whilst, yes, hassling wildlife is bad, and the owner should know what to do to avoid it, dogs gonna dog. It gladdens my heart that there are clearly more Brians in the world. I miss him. Even if he did pee on things he didn’t understand as a matter of course.
(however, Brian’s strut after scaring away a buncha weird sea-dogs would have been far more impressive than that there dog’s return up the pier)
3 Likes
Fifty pound dog just scared off 10,000 pounds of sea lions. There’ll be no living with him now.
11 Likes
They’re elephant seals, it’s a dock finger, and that’s a hyena*. Know your wildlife.
*One of these is true.
6 Likes
Fido is lucky he isn’t a Labrador. A Lab would have followed the sea lions into the water, to find himself surrounded by top predators in their own element, each six times his size and with bigger teeth.
9 Likes
Yes, Federal law makes that illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
There’s a colony of sea lions who have been hanging out in some of San Francisco’s most coveted pier side real estate since 1989 but the boat owners have to put up with them even though they don’t pay their docking fees.
9 Likes
